London: Gangster thrillers have been the most favourite genre in movies the world over. In Bollywood, gangsters’ movies for long were all about depicting the world of D company.
Ram Gopal Varma’s cult ‘Satya’ in 1998 offered a sleek narration of the dark underbelly of the bustling underworld in Mumbai. This triggered a series of movies that were based on the Mumbai gangsters, dominating the screen in the late 90s.
This was followed by Sanjay Dutt starrer ‘Vaastav-The Reality’, directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, which recounted the journey of an ordinary boy from Mumbai chawls to a dreaded criminal.
Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Black Friday’, based on Hussain Zaidi’s book of the same name narrated the deadly Mumbai serial blast in 1993, which triggered a new chapter in gangster movies.
Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Phantom’ is an adaptation of Zaidi’s book titled Mumbai Avengers, depicting the barbaric 26/11 Mumbai attack.
Though ‘Phantom’ is a political thriller highlighting the deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai but filmmakers are taking crime thrillers to hinterland. For long gangster were largely associated with Mumbai underworld, till Anurag Kashyap tried to give an interesting spin with the movie ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’.
Based on the lives of coal mafia operating in the interiors of Dhanbad in Jharkhand, the movie extended to two parts which caught the imagination of the audience. Featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee as gangsters and Tigmanshu Dhulia playing a kingpin, the thriller was a novelty offering a drift from the hackneyed plots of Mumbai mafia.
Wasseypur boy Zeishan Quadri, who scripted ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ now takes his new movie ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters’ to Meerut. It is the first time that gangsters from an unlikely small town like Meerut makes its way on the screen.
Featuring Nushrat Bharucha and Jaideep Ahlawat in the lead, the movie is about a gang of kidnappers operating in Meerut. The movie is a funny take on the misadventures in the lives of gangsters. A drift from the grim and dark narration, the movie promises to offer a refreshing take on gangster movies.
Subhash Kapoor’s ‘Guddu Rangeela’, largely revolving around the burning issue of honour killing, but, an attempt was made to highlight the prevalence of local gangsters and contract killer. Haryanvi lingo and local humour were the highlight of the movie, which added to the drama.
Sanjay Dutt starrer ‘Zilla Ghaziabad’ though was a satire on corrupt political and administrative system but it highlighted the rugged gangs operating in the small hamlet of UP. As a corrupt police officer, Dutt ably managed to expose the gangsters ruling the crime world through hand-made katta and driving around on open jeeps.
Tigmanshu Dhulia directed ‘Bullet Raja’ starring Saif Ali Khan was yet another refreshing attempt that gave a new twist to gangster saga. The film set against the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh-based mafia narrated the power game in the political and industrial powers of the states.
Since mafia based stories continues to intrigue the audience, filmmakers are exploring new geographies and mafias operating different places to keep the novelty intact.
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